Monday, January 7, 2013
State Rep. Sandy Pasch and Sen. Lena Taylor take the oath of office as the Wisconsin Legislature starts a new two-year session.
The Wisconsin Legislature started its new two-year session Monday with the swearing in of lawmakers — among them Democrats Rep. Sandy Pasch and Sen. Lena Taylor. In the new session, Pasch of Shorewood will serve as the assistant minority leader in the state Assembly after being chosen by her colleagues. On the Senate side, Taylor, who won re-election to the 4th Senate District in fall elections, told constituents on Facebook, "Today, Wisconsin inaugurates the 101st session of the Legislature and I am humbled and honored to continue serving the people of Milwaukee, Shorewood, Glendale, and Wauwatosa at the Capitol.” Pasch recently won election to the newly drawn 10th Assembly District, which includes Shorewood and portions of Milwaukee. “I …
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
State Rep. Sandy Pasch was re-elected to the post by her colleagues in the Assembly during a Democratic caucus on Tuesday.
Democrat state Rep. Sandy Pasch (D-Shorewood) has been tapped again to serve as assistant minority leader in the state Assembly. “I am honored and privileged to have again earned the support of my colleagues for this important position within our caucus," Pasch said in a statement Tuesday. "I am energized now more than ever to serve our caucus and use our diverse experiences, ideas, and skills to preserve and promote Wisconsin’s core values and priorities." Pasch was re-elected to the post by her colleagues in the Assembly during a Democratic caucus on Tuesday. As assistant minority leader, her job is to help guide the mission and message of Assembly Democrats. Pasch recently won election to the newly drawn 10th Assembly District, which …
Friday, September 14, 2012
Estimates in February put the cost of recall upwards of $17 million. The real figures are closer to $13 million, which is still a big chunk of change.
The Government Accountability Board issued a press release Friday saying the 2012 recall elections cost taxpayers more than $13 million. Specifically, the statement says the May recall primary ran up a bill of $6.3 million. That figure includes: The June recall general election cost more, coming in at $7.2 million. This amount also accounts for a variety of functions: “Instead of conducting two primaries and two elections this year, Wisconsin election officials will be conducting six elections, which added approximately $13.5 million in unbudgeted costs,” said Kevin Kennedy, director and general counsel of the GAB in the statement. “These unplanned elections also put significant stress on Wisconsin’s clerks, who have many other duties …
Friday, April 20, 2012
The state's largest and oldest reproductive healthcare organization announced Friday it would no longer offer medication-induced abortions due to recent legislation it described as "vague."
Rep. Sandy Pasch (D-Whitefish Bay) joined state Democrats' cries of foul Friday over Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin’s announcement it would discontinue offering patients abortion medication in the first nine weeks of pregnancy. The non-profit reproductive healthcare provider's move follows Friday's activation of Act 217, signed into law two weeks ago by Gov. Scott Walker. The measure imposes criminal penalties for physicians who fail to follow established procedures in the new law. Teri Huyck, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, said the measure is too "ambiguous and difficult to interpret." It requires a patient to visit the same doctor three times and the physician establish that women aren't coerced into abortion. …
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Attorney representing GOP legislative leaders told a three-judge panel late Tuesday a 1954 state Supreme Court opinion only allowed for one district map change per decade.
An attorney representing top state Republicans told three federal judges Tuesday night they were willing to revisit district maps but they didn't believe they had the power to do so. Republican lawmakers were asked earlier Tuesday to consider redrawing the new legislative and congressional district boundary maps, with challenges from Democrats and Latinos in mind, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. However, the attorney, Dan Kelly, said he believed a 1954 opinion by the state Supreme Court wouldn't allow for any changes, arguing lawmakers were only allowed to make changes to maps once a decade, the newspaper reports. Those challenging the state over the maps say they disagree and believe the new boundaries can be changed. …
Thursday, October 27, 2011
School Board decides not to join 28 other Wisconsin districts studying new system for reviewing teachers.
In September, 14 Shorewood School Board members, citizens and teachers formed a committee to work on a new grievance procedure for the district. That document defined teacher work rules, and board members said they wanted a fair policy — one not so stacked in the district's favor. School officials took a similar route with a new employee handbook. Now, school officials can add teacher evaluations to a long list of matters to tackle. Reform of how districts measure their educators is on the horizon in Wisconsin. Gov. Scott Walker and state Schools Superintendent Tony Evers formed the Educator Effectiveness Design Team last winter to create new framework for teacher and principal evaluations. Shorewood Superintendent Blane McCann said a …
Monday, October 24, 2011
A three-judge panel refuses to throw out a federal lawsuit arguing new congressional and legislative district maps are unconstitutional.
A legal challenge against new Republican-drawn congressional and legislative district maps is still alive, as a three-judge panel denied a motion to dismiss the suit Friday. Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen asked the judges to dismiss the federal lawsuit, filed by a group of citizens and former Democratic lawmakers in June, but the panel refused to dismiss the suit Friday citing a federal court's findings that Wisconsin improperly drew maps in 1983, postponing 173,976 voters' ability to cast a ballot, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. While the new boundries go into effect in 2012, they won't be used in elections until next fall. The group seeking suit says the new maps are unconstitutional because 300,000 people wouldn't …
Monday, October 17, 2011
After redistricting moves Shorewood out of the 22nd Assembly District and into the 10th District, Kristopher Rowe says he will make a run in 2012.
The architect behind the attempted recall of state Sen. Alberta Darling announced Monday he will seek the 10th Assembly District seat after redistricting takes effect in 2012. Kristopher Rowe, a Shorewood resident and respiratory therapist, said at a Village Board meeting that in light of Shorewood's shift from the 22nd District under Rep. Sandy Pasch (D-Whitefish Bay) to the 10th Assembly District, he will run for the seat now held by Democratic freshman Elizabeth Coggs of Milwaukee. “We have been really lucky in Shorewood to have some awesome Assembly leadership," he said. "I just want to make sure Shorewood continues that active and creative leadership. I will be knocking on all of your doors very soon and I hope to gain your trust and …
Sunday, October 16, 2011
In weekly radio address, Democratic leader says governor and Republicans pushed through an "extreme agenda that has stripped away access to health care."
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Sunday, October 16, 2011
Editor's note: Assistant Minority Leader Donna Seidel (D-Wausau) last week offered the fourth Democratic Weekly Radio Address. The topic for this week’s address is Gov. Scott Walker's attack on women's health. You can view Seidel's address on YouTube or listen to a podcast of the speech. You can also find last week's radio address from Walker here. __________________________________________ Hello. I’m Donna Seidel. I represent the 85th District, the Wausau area and I am the assistant Democratic deader. Last session, I was proud of advances we made to help Wisconsin women access comprehensive, affordable health care. We made sure they could get birth control without discrimination and have insurance companies pay for it. We expanded …
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Republicans say millions were spent unnecessarily on summer recall elections and they want to change state Constitution to require "just cause" for a recall effort.
Even with record unemployment and minimal job growth across the country, there is still one business that has demonstrated it is recession-proof: politics. The Wisconsin recall elections were a boon for statewide cash flow, with nearly $44 million in private funds pouring into the state for nine state Senate races. The Democrats and their supporters spent over $23.4 million for their efforts, with the GOP and conservative groups spent $20.5 million, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. By comparison, $19 million was spent on all of 99 state Assembly elections in November 2010. On top of the money raised in the recall, it cost municipalities another $2.1 million to hold the elections, print ballots and…
Bob McBride
10:18 am on Wednesday, November 14, 2012
I'm sure Keith could fill you in on all of this. He's a big fan. more ›